kühlesvskühnenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“kühles” and “kühnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#31,145
“kühles” frequency rank
#38,244
“kühnen” frequency rank
69389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kühles kühnen
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kühl Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kühn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kühles and kühnen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
kühles
6 ch
kühnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kühles ([ˈkyːləs]) and kühnen ([ˈkyːnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kühles is recorded at frequency rank #31,145, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkyːləs]. kühnen is at rank #38,244, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkyːnən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 69389, this pair ranks #478,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kühles vs kühnen

Shared letters: ehkü. Private to "kühles": ls. Private to "kühnen": n.

"kühles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "kühnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequency comparison

kühles#31,145
kühnen#38,244

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kühles" and "kühnen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkyːləs] versus [ˈkyːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kühles" or "kühnen"?
"kühles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,145 in our German list, against #38,244 for "kühnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kühles vs kühnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kühles” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list